Floods no hit to tourism

While LocoLanding has reported some lower numbers for the May long weekend, Mayor Andrew Jakubeit says regional flooding hasn't appeared to have impacted local tourism on the whole.

Penticton has largely escaped a season of heavy flooding in the Okanagan unscathed, while parts of Kelowna and the North Okanagan are inundated with water. However, that didn't stop some people from calling some local businesses to check in on the status of Penticton and whether they should come into town.

"I think the May long weekend still was really busy and sort of the walkway along Okanagan Lake was kind of more reminiscent of peak summertime traffic in terms of people coming up and down it," Jakubeit said on this week's Mayor's Minute.

"I think there's a lot of curiosity because of the high water mark, so everyone's curious of how high the water is, the SS Sicamous is actually floating, there's a lot of debris on the shore, so I think that's attracted a fair bit of attention."

Jakubeit acknowledged that LocoLanding, a local amusement park, had reported some lower turnouts for its May long push, but on the whole, he says tourism doesn't appear to have taken a hit from the weather.

"Penticton really hasn't had floods, by the marina there's been some small areas, but really, we've done a good job of sort of being pre-emptive and putting sandbags in," he said. "We had the province come on board to fund those tiger dams and provincial firefighters coming on, helping with sandbagging."

That work, Jakubeit said, has helped to protect some of Penticton's more vital infrastructure, like the Okanagan Lake walkway, a sentiment shared by Penticton's fire chief.

In fact, Tuesday has been the city's hardest-hit day, with damage to the Okanagan Lake walkway, concerns about the bridge to the Japanese gardens, slight displacement of the SS Sicamous and other damage along the shores.

"So far, we've been very pre-emptive in ensuring the rising water levels don't become a problem for the community, for residents and for our assets," Jakubeit said. 

"Certainly, we've sustained some erosion, some issues, but we're trying to stay ahead of it."